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Smaller cities are sometimes viewed as less housing-friendly than larger cities like San Jose, U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo said at a press conference in Mountain View on Friday. But he stressed that this isn’t always the case.
“Mountain View has been a stellar exception to that gripe,” Liccardo said.
In 2024, the state awarded Mountain View a “prohousing” designation, making it the first city in Santa Clara County to receive the recognition.
On Friday morning, Liccardo convened local leaders at the future site of a 143-unit affordable housing development at 57 E. Evelyn Ave. in Mountain View. He and other elected officials highlighted what Mountain View and nearby cities have already done, and what they plan on doing, to combat one of the most pressing problems facing many Bay Area households: the high cost of housing.
The site where Liccardo held his press conference on Friday is right next door to another planned affordable housing project. Currently used as a safe parking lot for those living in their cars and RVs, a developer plans to turn 87 E. Evelyn Ave. into a 268-unit apartment complex, with roughly half of the units set aside for low- and very low-income households.
In total, the Mountain View City Council recently approved around $20 million in local subsidies for these two housing developments, which will cover only a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars they are each expected to cost.
Liccardo also recently secured $2 million in federal funding for the 57 E. Evelyn Ave. development through a funding mechanism called Community Project Funding, which is generally allocated to local infrastructure and community development projects.
The development at 57 E. Evelyn Ave., which will be razed, is expected to be completed by the end of 2029. The 87 E. Evelyn Ave. project will be completed in phases, with an expected completion date in 2032.
Mountain View Mayor Emily Ann Ramos said on Friday that it takes a lot of money to construct affordable housing, often requiring support from the state, federal government, nonprofits and other sources. She noted that at the Evelyn Avenue sites, developers are still working to secure more money.
“If you have any extra sources of funding, please send [it] our way, because we will take it and we will build affordable housing,” Ramos said.
The state sets targets for how much housing cities throughout California are expected to add. In Mountain View’s case, the city needs to plan for more than 11,000 new units by 2031.
In the last few years, the City Council has moved to rezone parts of Mountain View to encourage more housing density. The zoning modifications would allow for the creation of between 10,000 and 16,000 new housing units, according to a July 2025 city memo.
“This takes a lot of partnership, and occasionally it takes a little help from the federal government,” Liccardo said. “I’ve been working every day amid the dysfunction of Washington, D.C., waking up thinking about how we can do more to tackle this housing crisis we have at home and throughout metropolitan regions in our country.”
Correction: An initial version of this article included the incorrect expected completion date for 57 E. Evelyn Ave. The development is expected to be completed by the end of 2029. The Voice regrets the error.
